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Biomedical subjects

R E Fine

Publications and source records attributed to R E Fine.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Decreased expression of the NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I) subunit 4 in 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium -treated human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells.

Oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction have been implicated in Parkinson's disease (PD) pathology. NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I) (EC 1.6.99.3) enzyme activity is aberrant in both PD and 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP(+)) models of PD. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction of RNA isolated from MPP(+)-treated human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells identified changes in steady-state mRNA levels of the mitochondrial transcript for subunit 4 of complex I (ND4). Expression of ND4 decreased to nearly 50% after 72 h of MPP(+) (1 mM) exposure. The expression of other mitochondrial transcripts did not change significantly under the same conditions. Pre-incubation of cells with the free-radical spin-trap, N-tert-butyl-alpha-(2-sulfophenyl)-nitrone prior to MPP(+) exposure, prevented decreases in cell viability and ND4 expression. This suggests that functional defects in complex I enzyme activity in PD and MPP(+) toxicity may result from changes in steady-state mRNA levels and that free radicals may be important in this process.

1-Methyl-4-phenylpyridinium↗

Postmastectomy radiotherapy: clinical practice guidelines of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

OBJECTIVE: To determine indications for the use of postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) for patients with invasive breast cancer with involved axillary lymph nodes or locally advanced disease who receive systemic therapy. These guidelines are intended for use in the care of patients outside of clinical trials. POTENTIAL INTERVENTION: The benefits and risks of PMRT in such patients, as well as subgroups of these patients, were considered. The details of the PMRT technique were also evaluated. OUTCOMES: The outcomes considered included freedom from local-regional recurrence, survival (disease-free and overall), and long-term toxicity. EVIDENCE: An expert multidisciplinary panel reviewed pertinent information from the published literature through July 2000; certain investigators were contacted for more recent and, in some cases, unpublished information. A computerized search was performed of MEDLINE data; directed searches based on the bibliographies of primary articles were also performed. VALUES: Levels of evidence and guideline grades were assigned by the Panel using standard criteria. A "recommendation" was made when level I or II evidence was available and there was consensus as to its meaning. A "suggestion" was made based on level III, IV, or V evidence and there was consensus as to its meaning. Areas of clinical importance were pointed out where guidelines could not be formulated due to insufficient evidence or lack of consensus. RECOMMENDATIONS: The recommendations, suggestions, and expert opinions of the Panel are described in this article. VALIDATION: Seven outside reviewers, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Health Services Research Committee members, and the ASCO Board of Directors reviewed this document.

Axilla↗

A prospective study of the removal rate of imaged breast lesions by an 11-gauge vacuum-assisted biopsy probe system.

BACKGROUND: More than 1,000,000 breast biopsies are performed each year as a result of abnormalities identified by imaging techniques. This prospective study was designed to determine whether complete removal of the imaged evidence of an abnormal mammogram or ultrasonogram could be achieved with percutaneous image-guided procedures using an 11-gauge vacuum-assisted biopsy probe. METHODS: Forty-five women over the age of 18 years entered the study; 50 breast lesions were identified by ultrasonography or mammography. Biopsies were obtained using an 11-gauge vacuum-assisted probe. At 6 months after biopsy, ultrasonography or mammography examinations of the biopsy site were performed. RESULTS: Forty-five lesions (90%) were completely removed. At 6 months after biopsy, 82% of the sites were lesion free. The percentage of nonrecurring lesions at 6 months after surgery was inversely related to the size of the original lesion. CONCLUSION: This device allows biopsies to be successfully combined with complete removal of the imaged lesion in a one-step minimally invasive procedure.

Adolescent↗

Tumor necrosis factor alpha increases human cerebral endothelial cell Gb3 and sensitivity to Shiga toxin.

Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is associated with intestinal infection by enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli strains that produce Shiga toxins. Globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) is the functional receptor for Shiga toxin, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) upregulates Gb3 in both human macrovascular umbilical vein endothelial cells and human microvascular brain endothelial cells. TNF-alpha treatment enhanced Shiga toxin binding and sensitivity to toxin. This upregulation was specific for Gb3 species containing normal fatty acids (NFA). Central nervous system (CNS) pathology in HUS could involve cytokine-stimulated elevation of endothelial NFA-Gb3 levels. Differential expression of Gb3 species may be a critical determinant of Shiga toxin toxicity and of CNS involvement in HUS.

Blood-Brain Barrier↗

Isolation and characterization of substance P-containing dense core vesicles from rabbit optic nerve and termini.

In neurons, neuropeptides and other synaptic components are transported down the axon to the synapse in vesicles using molecular motors of the kinesin family. In the synapse, these neuropeptides are found in dense core vesicles (DCVs), and, following calcium-mediated exocytosis, they interact with receptors on the target cell. We have developed a rapid, large-scale technique for purifying peptide-containing DCVs from specific nuclei in the central nervous system. By using differential velocity gradient and equilibrium gradient centrifugation, neuropeptide-containing DCVs can be separated by size and density from optic nerve (ON) and its termini, the lateral geniculate nuclei and the superior colliculi. Isolated DCVs contain neuropeptides (substance P and brain-derived neurotrophic factor), synaptic vesicle (SV) membrane proteins (SV2, synaptotagmins, synaptophysin, Rab3 and synaptobrevin), SV-associated proteins (alpha-synuclein), secretory markers for DCVs previously isolated (secretogranin II), and beta-amyloid precursor protein. By using electron microscopic techniques, DCV were also visualized and shown to be immunoreactive for neuropeptides, neurotrophins, and SV membrane proteins. Because of the interesting group of physiological and potentially pathophysiological proteins associated with these vesicles; this isolation procedure, applicable to other CNS nuclei, should represent an important research tool.

Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor↗

Toxicity of various amyloid beta peptide species in cultured human blood-brain barrier endothelial cells: increased toxicity of dutch-type mutant.

The amyloid beta peptide (A beta) is the major component of the neuritic and cerebrovascular amyloid plaques that are one of the characteristic features of Alzheimer's disease (AD). This peptide has been shown to be toxic to several relevant cell types, including neurons, cerebrovascular smooth muscle cells, and endothelial cells. We have studied the toxic effects of both soluble and aggregated species of A beta(1-40) and the mutation A beta(1-40)Glu-->Gln(22), which is the major species deposited in the cerebrovascular blood vessels of victims of hereditary cerebral hemorrhage with amyloidosis, Dutch type. We find that aggregates of both peptides, as well as of A beta(1-42) and A beta(25-35), are toxic to cultured human cerebrovascular endothelial cells (hBEC) obtained from the brain of a victim of AD (at doses lower than those that are toxic to CNS neurons or leptomeningeal smooth muscle cells). Soluble A beta(1-40) Gln(22) is equally toxic to hBEC, whereas wild-type A beta(1-40) is toxic only at higher doses. This toxicity is seen at the lowest dose of A beta(1-40) Gln (22) used, 20 nM. The soluble A beta(1-40)Gln(22) aggregates on the surface of the cells, in contrast to A beta(1-40), and its toxicity can be blocked both by an inhibitor of free radical formation and by Congo red, which inhibits amyloid fibril formation. We discuss the possibility that the enhanced toxicity of A beta(1-40)Gln(22) is mediated by a A beta receptor on the endothelial cells.

Amyloid beta-Peptides↗

Kinesin participates in melanosomal movement along melanocyte dendrites.

Movement of melanosomes along melanocyte dendrites is necessary for the transfer of melanin pigment from melanocytes to basal and suprabasal keratinocytes, an event critical to epidermal photoprotection and maintenance of normal skin color. Recent murine data suggest that in melanocyte dendrites the microtubule-associated melanosome movement is bidirectional and that actin-associated myosin V secures the peripheral melanosomes, preparing them to be transferred to surrounding keratinocytes. We now report that human melanocytes express high levels of kinesin, a molecule that participates in microtubule-associated transport of organelles in other cell types, and that ultrastructurally kinesin molecules are closely associated with melanosomes. To determine whether kinesin participates in melanosomal transport, cultured melanocytes were treated with sense or antisense oligonucleotides complementary to kinesin heavy chain sequences. Antisense oligonucleotides decreased kinesin protein levels and inhibited the bidirectional movement of the melanosomes, promoting their backward movement. Furthermore, guinea pigs were exposed to ultraviolet B irradiation, known to enhance transport of melanosomes from melanocytes to epidermal keratinocytes, and then were treated with kinesin sense or antisense oligonucleotides. The areas that were treated with kinesin antisense oligonucleotides showed significantly less pigmentation clinically and histologically than control (sense) oligonucleotide-treated areas. As observed ultrastructurally, in antisense-treated areas melanosomes remained in melanocyte dendrites but over several days were not transferred to the surrounding keratinocytes. Our study supports a major role for kinesin in microtubule-associated anterograde melanosomal transport in human melanocyte dendrites.

Animals↗

Serum amyloid A in Alzheimer's disease brain is predominantly localized to myelin sheaths and axonal membrane.

Immunohistochemical localization of the injury specific apolipoprotein, acute phase serum amyloid A (A-apoSAA), was compared in brains of patients with neuropathologically confirmed Alzheimer's disease (AD), multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson's disease (PD); Pick's disease (Pick's), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), coronary artery disease (CAD), and schizophrenia. Affected regions of both AD and MS brains showed intense staining for A-apoSAA in comparison to an unaffected region and non-AD/MS brains. The major site of A-apoSAA staining in both diseases was the myelin sheaths of axons in layers V and VI of affected cortex. A-apoSAA contains a cholesterol binding site near its amino terminus and is likely to have a high affinity for cholesterol-rich myelin. These findings, along with our recent evidence that A-apoSAA can inhibit lipid synthesis in vascular smooth muscle cells suggest that A-apoSAA plays a role in the neuronal loss and white matter damage occurring in AD and MS.

Aged↗

Serum amyloid A is present in the capillaries and microinfarcts of hypertensive monkey brain: an immunohistochemical study.

Serum amyloid A (SAA) is a major inducible acute phase protein characterized as a transient injury specific constituent of high density lipoprotein. We investigated whether the acute phase SAA (A-apoSAA), as a marker of inflammation, is present in the brain of monkeys with surgically induced hypertension of 39 months duration. Sections from brains of normotensive monkeys (systolic blood pressure < 124 mmHg) and hypertensive monkeys (systolic blood pressure > 185 mmHg) were processed for immunohistochemistry with a rabbit polyclonal antiserum to human A-apoSAA. We found that A-apoSAA was present in hypertensive but not in normotensive brain sections. Staining was localized to capillary endothelial cells and occasionally to the entire vessel wall of the prefrontal cortex. Staining was also observed in the capillaries and in medium size vessels of the corona radiata, the head of the caudate and, to a smaller extent, in the putamen. Additionally, the A-apoSAA was present in cells forming a circular configuration within microinfarcts. These findings suggest that high blood pressure in the brain can result in either local production of A-apoSAA in the capillaries and within microinfarcts or uptake of A-apoSAA from the blood

Animals↗

Beta amyloid fragments derived from activated platelets deposit in cerebrovascular endothelium: usage of a novel blood brain barrier endothelial cell model system.

Amyloid precursor protein (A betaPP) processing results in generation of amyloid beta peptide (A beta) which deposits in the brain parenchyma and cerebrovasculature of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Evidence that the vascular deposits derive in part from A betaPP fragments originating from activated platelets includes findings that individuals who have had multiple small strokes have a higher prevalence of AD compared to individuals who have taken anti-platelet drugs. Thus, determination of whether platelet A betaPP fragments are capable of traversing the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is critical. We have established that activated platelets from patients with AD retain more surface transmembrane-bound A betaPP (mA betaPP) than control platelets. We report here that this mA betaPP can be cleaved to A beta-containing fragments which pass through a novel BBB model system. This model utilizes human BBB endothelial cells (BEC) isolated from brains of patients with AD. These BEC, after exposure to activated platelets which have been surface-labeled with fluorescein and express surface-retained mA betaPP, cleave fluorescein-tagged surface proteins, including mA betaPP, resulting in passage to the BEC layer The data confirm that BEC contribute to processing of platelet-derived mA betaPP and show that the processing yields A beta containing fragments which could potentially contribute to cerebrovascular A beta deposition.

Adult↗

Calreticulin is transported to the surface of NG108-15 cells where it forms surface patches and is partially degraded in an acidic compartment.

Although calreticulin (Crt) is primarily localized to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), our results using biotinylation and immunocytochemical methods indicate that a small but significant amount of Crt is present and forms large patches on the surface of NG108-15 cells (a mouse neuroblastoma-rat glioma hybrid cell line). (35)S-labelled Crt molecules begin to reach the cell surface after only 10 min of labelling and disappear slowly from the cell surface. After 4 hr of labelling, approximately half of the newly synthesized Crt molecules are on the cell surface. We believe that some Crt molecules may escape from the KDEL receptor-mediated salvage pathway as they are synthesized and proceed through the secretory pathway to the cell surface. Immunoprecipitation from the culture medium shows that Crt is not released from the cell surface to the medium, suggesting tight binding to surface molecules. NH(4)Cl can block the degradation of Crt; therefore, Crt is presumably degraded in the lysosome pathway. However, blockage of the disappearance of surface Crt is less efficient than that of internal Crt. This suggests that the disappearance of Crt from the cell surface may not be due solely to its degradation, but may reflect transport into another cell compartment such as the ER.

Animals↗

Apolipoprotein serum amyloid A down-regulates smooth-muscle cell lipid biosynthesis.

The addition of acute-phase apolipoprotein serum amyloid A (SAA) to cultured aortic smooth-muscle cells caused a decrease in the incorporation of [(14)C]acetate into lipids. Optimal inhibition of lipid biosynthesis was achieved with 2 microM SAA, and the effect was maintained for up to 1 week when SAA was included in the culture medium. Lipid extracts were subjected to TLC and it was determined that the SAA-induced decrease in [(14)C]acetate incorporation into lipids was attributable to decreases in cholesterol, phospholipid and triglyceride levels. The accumulated mass of cholesterol and phospholipid in SAA-treated cultures was significantly less than that of controls, with no change in the accumulated protein. Moreover, SAA had no effect on either protein synthesis or DNA synthesis, suggesting that SAA specifically alters lipid synthesis. By using a peptide corresponding to the cholesterol-binding domain of acute-phase SAA (amino acids 1-18), it was shown that this region of the molecule was as effective as the full-length protein in decreasing lipid synthesis and the accumulation of cholesterol and phospholipid. The implications of these findings for atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's disease are discussed.

Acetic Acid↗

KDEL proteins are found on the surface of NG108-15 cells.

Although KDEL proteins are primarily localized to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), we have employed surface biotinylation method to demonstrate that the KDEL proteins calreticulin (Crt), protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) and the 78-kDa glucose regulated protein (GRP78) are found on the surface of the NG108-15 cell line. In contrast, the 94-kDa glucose regulated protein (GRP94), another KDEL protein, is not found on the cell surface. Calnexin (Cnx), a type-1 integral transmembrane ER protein which is partially homologous to Crt but lacks the KDEL sequence, is not detected on the cell surface either. While only small amounts of the total GRP78, PDI and Crt molecules exist on the cell surface at steady state, a significant fraction of the newly synthesized molecules are transported to the cell surface and transport of these proteins is inhibited by treatment with brefeldin A. The surface GRP78 contains the KDEL sequence. On the cell surface, GRP78, PDI and Crt associate with other proteins and form complexes of different sizes. Surface Crt is found to be essential for the neurite formation when NG108-15 cells are induced to differentiate using dibutyryl cAMP.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Glucose transporter Glut3 is targeted to secretory vesicles in neurons and PC12 cells.

In rat brain and cultured neuroendocrine PC12 cells, Glut3 is localized at the cell surface and, also, in a distinct population of homogenous synaptic-like vesicles. Glut3-containing vesicles co-purify with "classical" synaptic vesicles, but can be separated from the latter by sucrose gradient centrifugation. Unlike classical synaptic vesicles, Glut3-containing vesicles possess a high level of aminopeptidase activity, which has been identified as aminopeptidase B. This enzyme has recently been shown to be a marker of the secretory pathway in PC12 cells (Balogh, A., Cadel, S., Foulon, T., Picart, R., Der Garabedian, A., Rousselet, A., Tougard, C., and Cohen, P. (1998) J. Cell Sci. 111, 161-169). We, therefore, conclude that Glut3 is targeted to secretory vesicles in both neurons and PC12 cells.

Animals↗

Platelets and DAMI megakaryocytes possess beta-secretase-like activity.

We report here the discovery of two novel human platelet and megakaryocytic DAMI cell enzymes that have beta-secretase-like activity. These activities could potentially effect cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) at the beta-amyloid peptide N-terminus, by an EC 3.4.24.15-like metalloprotease, and the N terminus-1 position, by a serine protease. Thus both enzymes may generate the amyloidogenic beta-peptide. Studies of intact and Triton X-100-lysed DAMI cells, as well as intact versus subcellular fractions of platelets, demonstrate the presence of these proteolytic activities. The resting platelet has (1) a surface serine protease, demonstrated by its ability to cleave a beta-secretase substrate and by its inhibitor sensitivity; and (2) a metalloprotease, recognized by an antibody to EC 3.4.24.15, which resides intracellularly in the alpha-granule membrane, is translocated to the surface on activation, and shows beta-secretase-like activity by cleaving the same substrate. This metalloprotease can also cleave recombinant APP to a potentially amyloidogenic fragment. Surface metalloprotease was identified in DAMI cells by flow cytometry and Western blotting with a specific anti-EC 3.4.24.15 monoclonal antibody, while activity was identified by using two beta-secretase substrates. This article is the first to document two previously unknown endoproteinases with beta-secretase-like activity in platelets and DAMI cells. These proteases are capable of effecting cleavage of APP and could therefore contribute to Abeta deposition in the cerebrovasculature.

Alzheimer Disease↗

Two distinct populations of synaptic-like vesicles from rat brain.

In nonneuronal cells, several plasma membrane proteins such as exofacial enzymes, receptors, and ion channels recycle between their intracellular compartment(s) and the cell surface via an endosomal pathway. In neurons, however, this pathway has not been extensively characterized. In particular, it remains unclear whether or not it is related to the recycling of small synaptic vesicles, the major pathway of membrane traffic in nerve terminals. To approach this problem, we purified and studied a vesicular fraction from rat brain synaptosomes. Two distinct populations of vesicles with different buoyant densities and sedimentation coefficients were detected in this fraction by sucrose gradient centrifugation and Western blot analysis of the individual proteins. Both populations contain proteins that are markers of synaptic vesicles, namely, SV2, synaptotagmin, synaptophysin, secretory carrier membrane proteins (SCAMPs), synaptobrevin, and rab3a. A striking difference between the two populations is the presence of arginine aminopeptidase activity (a previously suggested marker for the regulated endosomal recycling pathway) exclusively in the lighter less-dense vesicles. The same two vesicular populations were also detected in the preparation of clathrin-coated vesicles isolated from whole rat brain or purified synaptosomes after removal of their clathrin coats by incubation at pH 8.5. We conclude, therefore, that both types of vesicles recycle in synaptosomes via a clathrin-mediated pathway. These data present experimental evidence for biochemical heterogeneity of synaptic-like vesicles in rat brain.

Animals↗

Brain endothelial cell enzymes cleave platelet-retained amyloid precursor protein.

We have previously demonstrated that thrombin-activated platelets from patients with advanced Alzheimer's disease (AD) retain significantly more surface membrane-bound amyloid precursor protein (mAPP) than platelets from non-demented age-matched individuals (AM). We have studied interactions between these platelets and the cerebrovascular endothelium to which activated platelets adhere in a model system, investigating their involvement in the formation of amyloid beta peptide (Abeta) deposits in AD patients. We report here that there appear to be alpha and beta secretase-like activities in primary human blood brain barrier endothelial cell (BEC) cultures from both AD patients and AM control subjects (AD-BEC and AM-BEC, respectively) as well as a gamma secretase-like activity that appears only in AD-BEC. No such activities were observed in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Furthermore, there is more penetration of the platelet-released products platelet factor 4 and soluble APP through the BEC layer grown from AD patients than that grown from AM individuals, whereas none penetrate through a HUVEC layer. Thus the interaction between platelets, the APP they have retained or released, and cerebral vascular endothelial cells may be at least partially responsible for amyloidogenic deposits around the cerebral vasculature of AD patients.

Adult↗

Increased calreticulin stability in differentiated NG-108-15 cells correlates with resistance to apoptosis induced by antisense treatment.

Since its first identification as a high-affinity calcium-binding protein over two decades ago [T.J. Ostwald and D.H. MacLennan, Isolation of a high-affinity calcium-binding protein from sarcoplasmic reticulum, J. Biol. Chem., 249 (1974) 974-979], calreticulin has become recognized as a multifunctional protein involved in a wide variety of cellular processes. We have previously shown that it has a protective function in Ca2+-mediated cell death [N. Liu, R.E. Fine, E. Simons and R.J. Johnson, Decreasing calreticulin expression lowers the Ca2+ response to bradykinin and increases sensitivity to ionomycin in NG-108-15 cells, J. Biol. Chem. , 269 (1994) 28635-28639]. We report here that in NG-108-15 neuroblastomaxglioma hybrid cells, calreticulin protein levels increase markedly when these cells are induced to differentiate by treating them with N,N-dibutyryl cAMP (db-cAMP). We demonstrate that the reason for this increase is mostly due to a large increase in the turnover time of calreticulin in differentiated cells. We also show that a calreticulin antisense oligonucleotide, CrtAS1, previously described by Liu and co-workers [N. Liu, R.E. Fine, E. Simons and R.J. Johnson, Decreasing calreticulin expression lowers the Ca2+ response to bradykinin and increases sensitivity to ionomycin in NG-108-15 cells, J. Biol. Chem., 269 (1994) 28635-28639] causes cell death in undifferentiated NG-108-15 cells when antisense treatment is extended for more than 24 h. This effect is not seen in NG-108-15 cells that have been induced to differentiate with db-cAMP until the cells have been treated with antisense for more than 4 days, due to the increased stability of Crt in these cells. Our results indicate that the mechanism by which these cells die is likely to be apoptosis.

Animals↗